Blood Ties
by Misura
Summary: Vord reflects on the value of family. [spoilers for volumes 3 and 4]


Blood-ties

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Warnings/notes: Vord, Lady Ramia, possibly ooc, snippet, 'missing scene'.

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Game.

(!) Spoilers for vol. 3 and 4.

written at 20th february 2005, by Misura. Edited on 5th of June: thanks to ChibiSerenity3 for pointing out I misspelled Seiliez' name!  
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Sometimes, Vord wonders what it'd be like to have a brother. A 'real' brother, bound to him by blood, instead of merely by words and traditions -by lies, really, even if he's begun to think of Laphiji and Seiliez as his brothers a long time ago, and can't imagine ever breaking that habit.

In theory, of course, he does have one, except that in practice, he hasn't even seen his real brother's face. (He supposes it might look a lot like his, what with them being twins and all, but who knows for sure?) It nullifies the bond somewhat; it's hard to feel any kinship to a person whom he's never even seen.

Most of the time, Vord tells himself he doesn't care. He's got Laphiji after all, who speaks so rarely that people are surprised when he does, and who is Vord's superior in both magic and swordsmanship. He's also got Seiliez, who ... well, Vord's perfectly willing to admit that Seiliez can pull off wearing skirts way better than him, though the value of that particular talent is debatable.

Perhaps they're not the best brothers in the world to have, but then again, Vord probably isn't that great a brother for them to have either, so it all evens out. Vord can be, and is, quite content with the current state of affairs, with living among a family that's his only in name, without ever having caught even a glimpse of his true relatives.

(Vord knows himself well enough to realize that he'd never settle for a mere glimpse anyway; he'd want a little chat at least, and Mother probably'd get all upset about that, so it's likely far more trouble than it's worth.)

He's happy where he is.

"Vord?"

He's never met his real parents or sibling, so he can't possibly care about them, not even a little.

"Did you hear me?"

He can manage a smile, surely.

"Yes, Mother, of course. The crown prince of Razenia has died."

He doesn't add 'by some unknown disease'; that'd be just a tad little bit too much. Still, he also doesn't say 'has been murdered' instead of 'has died'. That'll have to be enough.

"Don't you realize what this means for you?" She sounds so eager that he'd almost feel sorry for her. She certainly deserved someone else for a son, someone not like him or Laphiji or Seiliez, yet, in a way, he supposes that he, Laphiji and Seiliez may also deserve someone else for a mother. It's probably another instance of things canceling each other.

"I thought you wanted me to marry Princess Ishtar." It's true, too. Ever since Ishtar wrote that letter, Mother has hardly spoken of anything else. Vord doesn't really have any objection to becoming a king, and it sure sounds like fun to get a chance to pit himself against this so-called 'greatest swordsman of Pheliosta'.

She nods, not appearing to be the least bit surprised that his mind is capable of following hers just perfectly. Maybe it's because she really thinks of him as her son, more so than of Laphiji, whom she merely sees as useful (and far too hung up on Seiliez) and of Seiliez, whom she simply despises.

"Yes, but it's always good to have some back-up plan. I mean, you -know- how that little bitch always manages to make a mess of things." Perhaps she dislikes Seiliez less than Ishtar, perhaps not. Vord wonders if it's ever occurred to her to try and match-make -those- two, killing two birds with one stone, so to speak. He knows Seiliez wants Mother to love him, if only a little bit, so he should make at least as good a puppet-king as she expects Vord to be. (Better, actually, since Vord has no intention of becoming a king in name only.)

He shrugs. "I guess so." He doesn't expect to need any 'back-up plan'; he'll go for everything or nothing, doing his best to make sure he'll get the first. Why settle for less? Why cut off one possibility for the sake of another one?

Lady Ramia huffs, before striding away, muttering under her breath.

Vord stares after her, until she rounds a corner and disappears, leaving him alone. Then, he goes in search of someone -several someones, actually; the more, the merrier- to get drunk with.

Much, much later that night, he finds himself wondering again what it'd be like to have a brother. After several minutes, he decides it doesn't matter to him, since he'll never find out anyway.

That's not the best reason to order another round, probably, but he really doesn't care, not one bit. He never did.

OWARI

A/N: It may be assumed that the crown-prince of Razenia isn't one of Lady Ramia's subjects, so yeah, I do believe she'd have him assassinated for the sake of one of her schemes. Whether or not she actually did is a matter for speculation, of course.


End file.
